The variety of electrical appliances and devices in homes, offices and industrial facilities and the demand for electrical power to operate those devices is constantly increasing. Consequently, the generation and distribution of electrical power is a major industry around the world.
As power is generated and delivered to customers, it must be metered, so that customers can be charged for the power purchased or used. Power distribution is also monitored for power surges and other dangerous events. Upon the detection of such an event, the flow of power through the distribution system may be interrupted to protect the distribution system and the equipment connected to it. Power is also monitored as it is distributed to ensure that the power generation and distribution equipment is operating properly and efficiently.
In a typical power line monitoring system, the alternating current, which is an analog signal, is periodically sampled to create data points or “snapshots” of the current at particular moments in time. These data points created by periodically sampling the current are rendered as digital data that can be analyzed to understand and even reconstruct the waveform of the alternating current. This allows the monitoring equipment to detect problems in the current flow and respond appropriately when necessary.
Under conventional sampling techniques, the current is sampled approximately 128 times during each cycle of the alternating current. Thus, for each cycle of the alternating current, data on up to 128 points in time is acquired. This equates to an interval of approximately 130 microseconds between samples.
However, the present inventors have noted there are high-speed transients, aberrations in the regular pattern of the alternating current, that last less than 130 microseconds. Consequently, such transients will never be detected by conventional monitoring equipment and techniques. However, the presence of these high-speed transients can provide valuable information about the operation of the power generation or distribution system and may also signal an event for which the flow of current should be interrupted to protect the distribution system and connected equipment.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for a method and system that allows appropriate monitoring of a power distribution line while capturing high-speed transients that have been entirely missed by prior art systems.